North Dakota State senior Ben Woodside undoubtedly took a risk of never playing in the NCAA tournament when he signed to play for the Bison, but it’s one that paid off in big dividends last week.

Woodside, a former Albert Lea High School standout, hit the biggest shot of his career last Tuesday when he nailed a 17-footer to give the Bison a 66-64 win over Oakland in the Summit League tournament championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

It’s the first year NDSU is eligible to play in the tournament as it transitioned to Division I play, but this is the year Woodside has waited for five years to come.

Woodside and a group of four other Bison players redshirted their freshman year in order to have one shot at making the field of 65 and it’s been a dream come true so far.

“It feels great,” Woodside said. “It’s been a long day in the making for this opportunity. We took a chance and we succeeded.”

Woodside, Brett Winkelman, Lucas Moormann and Mike Nelson all sat out their freshman year in order to make one good run at an NCAA berth. It was a gamble but they cashed in when Woodside sank the game-winner last Tuesday.

“A lot of kids have four years and four cracks at it,” said Bison head coach Saul Phillips at a press conference following the Oakland win. “These guys just walked into the arena (as freshmen and set their goal of going to the NCAA tournament). It is just unbelievable what they did with all eyes on them.”

The Bison will learn their opponent Sunday night when the tournament field is selected, but the team can feel good about accomplishing a goal they had to wait five years just to have an opportunity.

“It’s been a long journey since day one,” Woodside said. “It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of 6 a.m. mornings.”

Woodside has savored every moment this season and there have been plenty of memories created.

“I’ve embraced every single day of my senior year,” Woodside said. “I know I’ll never have another opportunity to like that.”

Woodside scored an NCAA-high 60 points earlier this season against Stephen F. Austin at the Hy-Vee Classic in Des Moines, Iowa and tied a single game mark set by Pete Maravich with 30 free throws made. His 60 points was a Summit League record, school record, and tied him with Elgin Baylor as the 21st most points scored in a game.

Woodside set the career scoring mark at NDSU, the single season scoring mark and the career free throws made this season en route to becoming the Summit League Player of the Year.

Woodside led the league in scoring with 22.2 points per game and finished second with 5.7 assists per game.

Woodside’s coach at Albert Lea, Matt Addington, who now coaches at Kenyon-Wanamingo, says all the accolades directed toward Woodside this season are well-deserved.

“There’s not a kid that deserves the accolades more than he does,” Addington said. “He has worked his head off. All of those things are deserved.”

It was pretty clear early on that Woodside could become a very talented player. His grandfather, Jack Woodside, held the Albert Lea single-season scoring record at one time. His father, Paul Woodside, was an all-state guard, and his mother Roberta (VanderWaal) Woodside, is No. 2 on the all-time scoring list for the girls’ basketball team.

“You knew early in his career that he was going to be a special high school player,” Addington said.

Woodside received a number of accolades throughout his prep career, including being named the Class 3A Player of the Year and a Mr. Basketball nominee.

Woodside left an indelible mark on Albert Lea basketball that lasted years after he graduated, Addington said.

“He was such a leader for us at Albert Lea,” Addington said. “After he graduated it was amazing to see how his leadership flourished. That’s something you don’t see too often.”

Woodside entertained offers from a number of Division I colleges that were eligible for the NCAA tournament, but ultimately decided on NDSU and patiently waited for his chance.

The NCAA field will be selected Sunday and Minneapolis is one of the first and second round sites this season and the Bison may just find themselves playing in the Midwest in the first round.

Woodside said he’s received quite a few text messages from friends and people from Albert Lea and he’s appreciated all the support he’s received from people in Albert Lea.

Now Woodside finds himself exactly where he wanted to be when he started his journey five years ago.

“Hopefully this journey will can continue,” Woodside said.